Student Help

To help we’ve identified a series of resources and links that can assist you with your research and learning.

Parliamentary Education Office

The Parliament runs an education office full of great resources for students and teachers. There are fact sheets on all the important roles and functions of the Parliament and even an assignment assistant!

Labor History

The Labor History Website is a fun and interactive way to explore Labor’s history in Australian politics. There are stories, videos and pictures that track Australia’s developing democracy over the last century.

•     Labor History

Prime Minister's Website

The Prime Minister’s website is a great resource for information about Julia Gillard and the work of the Prime Minister. You can participate in one of the Prime Minister's regular blogs.

•     pm.gov.au

Australian Parliament House

The Australian Parliament House website will let you know sitting dates of Federal Parliament and also live stream Parliamentary sittings.

You can search the ParlInfo Library for Hansard records and other parliamentary documents.

•     Australian Parliament House

Progressive Think Tanks

Policy Centres such as the Evatt Foundation, the Fabian Society, the Lowy Institute and the Chifley Research Centre add to the public debate in Australia through their work. For a deeper perspective into public policy discourse check out their websites.

•     Australian Fabians

•     Evatt Foundation

•     Australian Review of Public Affairs

•     Chifley Research Centre

•     Lowy Institute

Further Reading

Many books have been written about Australian political history as well as Labor history. A selection of these is below. You can also suggest a title to add to the list.

•     McMullin, Ross: The Light on the Hill, The Australian Labor Party 1891-1991, OUP 1991

•     Faulkner, John and Macintyre, Stuart (eds). True Believers: the story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. Crows Nest, A&U 2001.

•     Crisp, L.F. The Australian Federal Labor Party 1901-1951. H&I 1978.

•     Whitlam, Gough: The Truth of the Matter, Third Edition MUP, 2005

•     McMullin, Ross: So Monstrous a Travesty, Scribe 2004

•     Daly, Fred: From Curtin To Hawke, Sun Books updated 1985

•     Cohen, Barry: Whitlam to Winston, A&U 1997

•     Whitlam, Gough: The Whitlam Government 1972-75, Viking 1985

•     Beazley, Kim E: Father of the House, Fremantle Press 2008

•     Murphy, Dennis: Hayden, a political biography, A&R 1980

•     Day, David: Andrew Fisher, Fourth Estate 2008

•     D’Alpuget, Blanche, Robert J Hawke, Schwartz 1982

•     Morgan, Patrick: B.A. Santamaria, Miegunyah Press 2008

•     Walsh, Peter: Confessions of a Failed Finance Minister, Random House 1995

•     Spaull, Andrew: John Dedman, Hyland House 1998

•     Stuart, Nicholas: Kevin Rudd, Scribe 2007

•     Day, David: John Curtin, HarperCollins 1999

•     Strangio, Paul: Jim Cairns, Keeper of the Faith, MUP 2002

•     FitzSimons, Peter: Beazley, HarperCollins 1998

•     Whitlam, Gough: Abiding Interests, UQP 1997

•     Crockett, Peter: Evatt, A Life, OUP 1996

•     Jones, Barry: A Thinking Reed, A&U 2006

•     Edwards, John: Keating, the inside story, Viking 1996

•     Buckley, Dale&Reynolds: Doc Evatt, Longman Chesire 1994

•     Moss, Jim: History of the Labour Movement in SA, Wakefield Press 1985

•     Freudenberg, Graham. Cause for Power: History of the NSW branch, Pluto 1991

•     Markey, Raymond: The Making of the Labor Party in NSW, UNSW 1988

•     Bastion, Peter: Andrew Fisher, UNSW 2009

•     Appleton, Gillian: Diamond Cuts, a memoir of Jim McClelland, Pan 2000

•     Weller, Patrick: John Button, a Labor Life, A&U 1999

•     Watson, Don: Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Random House 2002

•     Horne, Donald: In search of Billy Hughes, MacMillan 1979

•     Cameron, Clyde. The Cameron Diaries, A&U 1990